Water container for refrigerator door



Sept. 28, 1965 L. D. BRUGIONI 3,208,641

WATER CONTAINER FOR REFRIGERATOR DOOR Filed Sept. 9, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet1 INVENTOR. %D BRUGIONI 'A'ITORNEYS Sept. 28, 1965 L. D. BRUGlONI3,208,641

WATER CONTAINER FOR REFRIGERATOR DOOR Filed Sept. 9, 1963 I5Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

LEROY D BRUGIONI rATFORNEYS United States Patent 3,208,641 WATERCONTAINER FOR REFRIGERATOR DOOR Leroy D. Brugioni, 341 N. Belmont,Kansas City, Mo. Filed Sept. 9, 1963, Ser. No. 307,625 1 Claim. '(Cl.22210'8) This invention relates to a refrigerator drinking watercontainer and cooler, and more particularly to a container adapted to besupported on the inside door of the refrigerator.

Various coolers have been devised for refrigerators by way of runningwater through refrigerated zones and a container having a spout thereoninside the refrigerator for dispensing the water therefrom. Somerefrigerators have a water cooler supported on the inside door of therefrigerator having a spigot easily accessible on the outside of therefrigerator without opening the main door thereof.

It is the principal object of the invention to provide a refrigeratorhaving a door with the usual shelves on the inside of the door whichextend slightly into the refrgerator cabinet when the door is closed andhaving an opening in the inside wall of the door through which a tubularmember is run and rovided with a spigot or valve supported in acompartment accessible by opening a small door in the face of the maindoor of the cabinet for dispensing water from the container merely uponopening of said small door. This invention is particularly useful andunique for providing water easily accessible to children without havingan unsightly spigot viewable from outside the refrigerator and thusdetracting from the appearance of the refrigerator.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide a refrigeratordoor with an inwardly extending rim or angular member therearoundprovided with shelves for storage of articles and upon one of whichshelves is supported a container having a spout extending through theinner wall of the door'of the cabinet; to provide the spout with aconnection including a valve or spigot for dispensing liquid from thecontainer; to provide the door with a compartment having a small dooropening to the compartment from the outside of the door of therefrigerator; to provide a bottom in the compartment for supporting aglass, cup or the like into which the liquid from the container may bedispensed; to provide a drain from the compartment and a receptacle forcatching the drainage due to spillage of liquid in dispensing the samefrom the container, the container for the overflow or spillage beingalso supported by the inner portion of the main door of the refrigeratorand to provide a device of this character simple and economical tomanufacture.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent fromthe following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein are set forth by way of illustration and examplecertain embodiments of this invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my invention showing a child dispensingliquid from the container.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the refrigerator with the door partiallyopened particularly illustrating the shelves on the door, the containerfor the liquid and the drainage tube and pan.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view through thecontainer and door particularly illustrating the 3,208,641 PatentedSept. 28, 1965 ice connection of the spout and spigot, the compartmentand small door.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

The reference numeral 1 designates a refrigerator of the usualconstruction having a main compartment 2 closed by a main door 3. Therefrigerator includes the usual upper refrigerating compartment closedby a door 4.

The door 3 is provided with the usual insulation 5 and an additionalinsulation strip 6 and an inner plate 7 and an outer plate 8. Aninwardly extending angular flange or rib 9 is secured to and carried bythe inside of the door 3 and extends slightly inside of the maincompartment 2 but short of the shelves 10 in said main compartment. Theangular flange 9 has side members 11 and 12 and cross-shelves asindicated at 13. Any number of shelves may be provided and may be eitherremovable or permanently secured to the door. The flange 9 also includesa shelf member 14 with a flange 15. The shelves 13 may also be providedwith flanges 16 for retaining articles thereon.

Removably supported on one of the shelves 13 is a container 17 which maybe of plastic, or any non-corrosive material having a filling opening 18in the top thereof. The container is rovided with a spout 19 havingthreads 20 for receiving the threaded end 21 of a connection to a spout22 having a valve 23 and operating lever 24 shown in dotted lines andthe valve in open position. The spout 19 extends through an opening 19'in wall 7 and the spigot 22 is removable therefrom so that the container 17 may be removed for cleaning and filling.

Any kind of liquid as indicated at 25 may be contained in the container17 such as water, orange juice or other soft drinks.

The spigot 22 is housed within a compartment 26 in the door 3 and thecompartment is closed by a door 27 hinged to the side wall of thecompartment as indicated at 28 (FIG. 1). A handle 29 is provided foropening the door 27. A bottom 30 is provided in the compartment 26 forsupporting a glass, cup or the like 31 into which the liquid from thecontainer is dispensed for use, the bottom sloping slightly toward thewall 7. A drain opening 32 is provided in the bottom of the compartment26 having a tube connection 33 leading to a drip pan 34 supported on theshelf 14 of the door to catch drippings from the spout or overflow fromthe glass 31.

It will be noted the door is slightly thicker than the average door andhas the added insulation strip 6 and the small door 27 is also insulatedto prevent collection of moisture on the inner wall surface 34 of theplate 7. The main door 3 is provided with a handle 35.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that I have provided an improvedapparatus for dispensing liquid from a container through the main doorof a refrigerator and in which the spigot member is enclosed. If desiredthe hinges 28 may be provided with a spring member (not shown) urgingthe small door to close position.

It is to be understood that while I have illustrated and described oneform of my invention, it is not to be limited to the specific form orarrangement of parts herein de scribed and shown except insofar as suchlimitations are included in the claim.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A liquid dispensing apparatus for a refrigerator comprising,

(a) a main door having inner and outer walls and having a compartment insaid door accessible from the outside of the refrigerator withoutopening said main door, said inner wall having an opening therein tosaid compartment,

(b) a liquid container,

(c) means supporting said container on the inner Wall of said main door,

(d) a spout on said container extending through said opening in theinner wall of said main door,

(e) a spigot member in said compartment connected to said spout, meansfor closing said compartment, said 10 compartment having drainage meansincluding an opening in said inner Wall, a pan carried by said innerwall of the door, and a tube leading from said opening to said pan.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 348,043 8/86Nickles 222108 2,078,097 4/37 Radzinsky 62-338 X 2,408,704 10/46 Taylor62338 X 2,462,743 2/49 Handel 62-338 X LOUIS J. DEMBO, Primary Examiner.

